Great work is going on at Ballet in Cleveland! One of many sentiments that I appreciate from the video is that guys are “our partners.” How true on so many levels… we all work and dance together!

Guys Dance Too educates, supports, and empowers males in the art of dance. It frees the minds and potential of male dancers and all who aspire to be one. It breaks down gender barriers and stereotypes and creates opportunities for self-expression for all through dance.

Read more on the Guys Dance Too initiative at Ballet in Cleveland’s website.

I only just recently heard about Mananayaw (Tagalog for dancer), a Filipino documentary that focuses on four male ballet dancers associated with Ballet Philippines. I hope to get to see it someday! (And I’m especially interested as my ethnic heritage is Filipino, and I’m fascinated to see ballet in the homeland.)

Four danseurs, one passion: Zooming in on the narratives of four male dancers, who were produced by Ballet Philippines, one of the country’s top professional ballet companies, Mananayaw teases out the dance careers of four generations of Filipino male ballet dancers: Nonoy Froilan, JM Cordero, Biag Gaongen, and Victor Maguad.

The past couple of years has seen an influx of traditional ballet and ballet-based classes, squarely aimed at the busy office worker. It might not seem an obvious combination, but pure classical ballet technique is the ultimate antidote to a high pressured, stressful working environment.

I work from home and use a standing desk… so I get to dance all the time. And I can definitely attest to its stress-relieving properties. Even if you don’t have the space or freedom to do full-out ballet at your desk or office, definitely take the time periodically during the workday to get up and stretch. Great for body and mind!

(Though I do wish they hadn’t used a stock photo of pointe shoes for the post. Dancing en pointe is not necessarily a goal among many adult ballet dancers, and only then it comes after years of training, which seems like a distraction from the post’s pitching of ballet to the casual office-worker.)

Dapper dancers for sure! Check out this fashion shoot featuring New York City Ballet’s Zachary Catazaro and Joshua Thew, directed by Bon Duke with choreography by Troy Schumacher, leading off the new men’s style section of the New York Times.

Ballet San Jose’s Joshua Seibel has some strong advice for young dancers: never let anyone tell you what you can’t do. Seibel should know. Years of ear trouble—and multiple surgeries—have left Seibel mostly deaf. ‘People probably don’t realize I should technically be wearing hearing aids,’ he says. But Seibel’s partial deafness hasn’t stopped him from dancing. This season, he was even promoted to soloist at Ballet San Jose.

I picked up the March 2015 issue of Details a while back for the ballet fashion spread including some of my favorite danseurs, and am remiss in sharing it only just now. Enjoy!

Calvin Royal III, American Ballet Theatre. Photo by Mark Seliger.

“This season, it wasn’t a stretch for designers to find inspiration in the dance world. The result is a fresh take on tees, tanks, and crisp white button-downs—layered or worn separately, with ultralight trousers—that truly raises the barre.”

Spring has sprung! It’s the perfect time to turn over a new leaf and launch a name change for my blog that I’ve been pondering for a long while now. Welcome to The Dapper Dancer, here at its new domain, thedapperdancer.com.

While I loved the old name, The Music and the Mirror, I wanted a new name that incorporated a bit of my dandy personality… and also had the word dance or ballet in it. Hope you like it (and that you’ll think of me when you hear it)!

I’ll probably redirect then eventually close down the old Music and Mirror site, so if you’ve been kind enough to link from your blog, please make sure to update your link. Lastly, just a reminder to also check out the Dapper Dancer Facebook page (thedapperdancer) and my general dance-and-more Twitter feed (@jefftabaco). Thanks and keep dancin’!

Interesting: according to my site stats, someone came to my blog via the search string “length of sf ballet program 1.” Good question!

The running time including intermission(s) for San Francisco Ballet programs can be found on their website on each program page. For example, Program 1’s total running time is 2 hours 25 minutes with two intermissions, shown here. If you want a further time breakdown of each program, check out their press kits as they become available.

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Hello!

I'm Jeff! Join me as I share dance news and reviews around the San Francisco Bay Area and my assorted thoughts on learning ballet as an adult. (This blog was formerly titled "The Music and the Mirror.")